It's just seven miles from Melksham (pop 25,000) to Calne(pop 15,000) - and the two towns are both part of the Wiltshire Unitary area, with a lot in common. The road between them - the A3102 - always seems busy.

The Problem

You would think that there would be a bus service that let you get between them, wouldn't you? Well - as Chris (who lives in Calne, and works in Melksham) has found out over the last couple of weeks with his car off the road - there sort of is a service ... but it requires a certain amount of principled robustness (or forced necessity!) to make use of it.

* There's a bus at 09:40(?), five mornings a week, run by A D Raines, from Calne to Melksham, and a return journey from Melksham at 14:15. NOTE: The timetable says 14:15, but I understand that the bus doesn't actually wait until 14:15 if it's running early - get there at least 10 minutes early if you're going to use it!

* You can get a bus - either First or Faresaver from Melksham to Chippenham, then (usually after a long wait, as it doesn't connect!) a bus - StageCoach or APL Travel on to Calne.

* You can get a bus - First - from Melksham to Devizes then an APL travel bus from Devizes to Calne. If doesn't connect at Devizes - another long wait.

Tickets are not interchangeable between the bus companies, so you're left buying expensive singles or with irritating longer waits because there's only a First bus in the morning and they have a two hour gap in the afternoon. And "2 services an hour" is technically true on the Chippenham - Melksham leg most of the day, but it may as well be one an hour as much of the time there are two buses within 5 minutes, then nothing for 55.

Chris has been taking up to 2 and a half hours to travel the 7 miles from work in Melksham to home in Calne. That's an average speed of 2.8 m.p.h. - so it would have been quicker for him to walk!

Could do better?

Yes - a bit of joined up thinking would help

* Co-ordinate the buses on each leg so that the gaps in service are more even. (change "2 buses an hour" into "half hourly")

* Tune timetables to make connections

* Provide through fares and allow the return half of tickets to be used on either company's buses.

* Have the buses wait for "right time" rather than leaving early!

Curiously, the solution doesn't call for any more money to be spent - no more buses to buy, just tuning existing resources. The net effect? A lot more people would use the lot more practical service, more "farebox" money take, less need for subsidy.

I guess this is too sensible a solution for it to actually happen!

(written 2010-05-20, updated 2010-05-22)

Associated topics are indexed as below, or enter http://melksh.am/nnnn for individual articles

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Here is how! - (2012-10-26)[3893] Public Transport across Wiltshire - a new map - (2012-10-13)[3879] Mixed mode travel - Information systems - (2012-10-03)[3877] Public Transport Services - from and to Melksham - (2012-10-01)[3866] Celebrate! Buses from Meksham to Bath - (2012-09-18)[3850] Bus times - Chippenham Station to Melksham, with London connections - (2012-08-25)[3849] New bus times - Melksham to Bath - (2012-08-25)[3699] Bristol 50? Bristol 25? - (2012-04-17)[3631] Getting around Dublin by public transport - some observations - (2012-03-01)[3580] Melksham Area - buses, trains, cycles, and roads. Meeting, 17.1.2012 - (2012-01-15)[3579] Transport in Cambridgeshire - seen by an outside observer. What can Wiltshire learn? - (2012-01-15)[3564] I wish I was not a special case - (2011-12-29)[3523] When competition is not a good idea - Melksham Bus Absurdity - (2011-11-16)[3504] Coaches from Trowbridge and Melksham to London - (2011-11-01)[3487] Public transport - road and rail - (2011-10-19)[3486] How important is public transport to people in the Melksham area? - (2011-10-19)[3471] Vintage Bus Running Day in Warminster. An example of good bus practise. - (2011-10-09)[3404] Buses on the Cambridge Guided Busway - (2011-08-24)[3301] Using public transport - USA style - (2011-05-25)[3290] Changes (and no changes) at Melksham bus stops - (2011-05-15)[3194] Buses - what they cost and their future direction in the SW and in Wiltshire - (2011-03-06)[3126] Car Parking in Melksham - thoughts on the proposed scheme, and wider thoughts too - (2011-01-09)[2983] Strong arm tactics in the bus industry? Poor result for the customer! - (2010-10-03)[2982] Travel, Transport and Tourism - A vision for Melksham, 2026 - (2010-10-03)[2958] What do these road markings mean? Could Confusion Kill? - (2010-09-17)[2933] Bath - Melksham - Devizes buses from September - (2010-08-23)[2919] London to Calne, Corsham, Melksham, Bradford-on-Avon, Chippenham by public Transport - (2010-08-13)[2903] Bath to Devizes bus via Melksham - changing again in September - (2010-08-04)[2857] Park and Ride at Batheaston - will it solve Wiltshires Ills? - (2010-07-06)[2791] Bath to Melksham buses - times - (2010-06-03)[2789] Melksham to London (Heathrow, and Central London) - (2010-06-02)[2672] Dear Planners, please provide viable alternatives - (2010-03-11)[2662] Is Melksham public transport actually used? - (2010-03-05)[2533] Five guests, three groups, one car - (2009-12-11)[2522] Integrated public Transport - what could be done for Melksham - (2009-12-01)[2515] Why we have two buses an hour - but not a half hourly service - (2009-11-28)[2431] Moving busstop! - (2009-09-30)[2372] Public Transport from (and to) Melksham on Sundays - (2009-08-23)[2328] Melksham - no trains, no southbound buses through the town - (2009-08-08)[2268] Westbury Bypass Refused - looking forward - (2009-07-04)[2083] Do you support a decent train service? Please sign up! - (2009-03-15)[2075] Supporting Parkinsons and Trains - (2009-03-11)[1777] The Rise and Rise of First Bus Fares - (2008-08-29)[1723] Bath - Melksham - Devizes. Bus route changes, new timetable - (2008-07-26)[1668] Talk on TransWilts train service to Green Party - (2008-06-07)[1567] Melksham - Swindon. Train v Bus v Car - (2008-03-07)[1560] HST Power Car TravelWatch SouthWest - (2008-03-01)[1511] Buses from Well House Manor, Melksham, to Bath - (2008-01-18)[1428] Travel Across Wiltshire - the game - (2007-11-11)[1315] Two years of campaigning for a train service - (2007-08-22)[1254] Comparing bus stops - (2007-07-01)[1125] Train service - petititon reply - (2007-03-31)[1085] Lawrence Webb's Melksham Taxi service - (2007-02-18)[818] Heard, yes. Considered, no. The case for the train. - (2006-07-30)[764] Journey planning - Xephos v Transport Direct - (2006-06-16)[474] Vintage Bus Day - (2005-10-23)[459] Kiss and Ride - (2005-10-09)[187] a popular bus number - (2005-01-23)[119] PHP course. Come by train. - (2004-11-15)

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